


Push Ahead

by Naomida



Series: Howl at the Moon [12]
Category: Fantastic Four, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, getting there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8850700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naomida/pseuds/Naomida
Summary: “I’m getting better,” he said, and for a second Peter couldn’t breathe through the gut-punching feeling of sheer relief that washed over him.





	

Peter looked into the black eyes staring defiantly back at him, and wondered, not for the first time since becoming a werewolf, how he had gotten himself into such a shitty situation, and why the hell this was happening to him again.

Victor scowled and Peter took a careful step back, not even trying to hide his panic or the shiver of pure terror that shook his entire body.

The last time he had been all alone in the woods with Victor facing him like that, his pulmonary artery had been pierces by a set of sharp claws before giant fangs had closed around his neck and he had literally died – up until the moment the weird werewolf magic had taken effect and brought him back about two minutes later, if Jim was to be trusted.

Granted, the last time Victor had also been a very big, very scary, very feral werewolf, and right that moment the man was the complete opposite of that, but _still_. Even completely naked, shivering and human again for the first time in _months_ , Peter couldn’t help but be scared of him.

“Peter,” murmured Sue, the first one to speak since Peter had stumbled upon the two of them in the middle of the woods. “You need to very slowly step back, okay?” she asked, her eyes never leaving Victor, who was still looking right into Peter’s.

Peter did just as he was told, but he barely had time to take one step back before Victor was raising a hand in his direction and trying to get up on two feet, stumbling pathetically and falling back on his knees hard enough that Peter winced sympathetically.

“Mine,” groaned Victor, voice rough from not being used in so long. “My wolf.”

Peter glanced at Sue, who looked as confused as he felt.

“Victor...” she tried, but he cut her off brusquely.

“My wolf,” he repeated, sparing her a second long glance before he was looking at Peter and raising a hand in his direction again. “I bit him. He’s my wolf.”

Sue frowned and pursed her lips, but she slowly got up from the leaves covered ground and took several prudent steps back.

“Alright,” she said, glancing at Peter like she was assessing him, “I’ll leave you two to it then, but I’m not going far, so scream if you need anything.”

Victor nodded, not looking away from Peter as Sue slowly walked away and disappeared behind the trees.

Peter swallowed around the tight knot of pure panic lodged in his throat, and waited.

Victor waited for a while too, his eyes looking completely crazy, before finally gesturing for Peter to come closer – and despite the fact that it was about the absolute last thing he wanted to do, something had him step up and walk to the naked man until he could crouch next to him.

Victor gave him the ghost of a smile, gently grabbing his left hand, and laced their fingers, looking closely at the way their hands fitted together.

“Uh...” said Peter, starting to sweat nervously.

“I bit you...” replied Victor, sounding breathless, and way too rough still from not using his voice for so long.

In fact, he sounded like it hurt to speak, and Peter tried to tell him that he didn’t have to, but Victor just ignored him and continued.

“I didn’t realize at the time, what I had done, but everything is clearer now, and I feel like it maybe wasn’t by pure chance that you’re the one that got bitten.”

Peter frowned, not understanding where this was coming from or where this was going, and was taken aback when Victor looked up at him, eyes sharp and looking clear in a way he had never seen them before.

Maybe, he thought, this was what Victor had been like, before everything.

Then the moment was gone as Victor looked back down at their interlaced hands.

“You and I are more alike than we think. We both ran when faced with the prospect of mating.”

“I ran because I was scared,” immediately replied Peter, squeezing Victor’s fingers without really thinking, “for nothing, as it turns out, because mating Johnny was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And what do you think were my reasons?” replied Victor, sounding bitter. “I just didn’t have anyone running after me to yell at me and force me to do the right thing.”

“Sue did.”

“Sue was too late, but it doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

He tightened his fingers around Peter’s for just a second, just as he was gritting his teeth and starting to scowl a little harder, before he sighed deeply and seemed to suddenly sag and relax.

“I don’t think you understand what’s happening,” he muttered, giving an unhappy chuckle. “I’m human, Peter. For the first time in months, the wolf is leaving me alone.”

Peter’s heartbeat picked up as realization dawned on him. He felt himself pale as Victor let go of his hand to raise both of his in front of his face and slowly move them and his fingers around, seeming fascinated by it.

“I’m getting better,” he said, and for a second Peter couldn’t breathe through the gut-punching feeling of sheer _relief_ that washed over him. “I’m not totally there yet, but I don’t think it’s gonna be as long as everybody feared. Maybe only a few more months. Each day, the wolf allows me a little more back into my own head.”

“It’s great Victor,” breathed Peter, voice a little shaky from emotions.

Victor frowned slightly, still looking at his hands as he wiggled his fingers around.

“I’m telling you this because you are the pack member who’s the least attached to me. I knew you wouldn’t respond disproportionately to the news like the others and… well, you’re not Loki, so that’s also a bonus.

Peter frowned.

“Why did you want to tell someone?”

“Because being treated like an oversized dog or something fragile that needs to be handled with care is tiring and, quite frankly, insulting. I feel like you could challenge me in unexpected ways.”

“Is this your weird way of telling me that you want to be my friend?” asked Peter, frowning even harder at the idea because it just… didn’t make any sense? Sounded completely ridiculous? Was so unexpected, Peter couldn’t really believe it was actually happening?

Yeah, he thought after pondering over it for a beat, all of the above.

Victor, however, instead of snorting haughtily and saying something mildly insulting, ducked his head the other way and bit his lip.

“Wait,” said Peter, blinking in surprise, “ _Really_?”

“Yes,” hissed Victor without turning back to him, “really.”

For a moment, Peter wanted to laugh, because it must have been a joke of some kind, but for some reason his heart squeezed uncomfortably in his chest instead, forcing him to stay serious and _think_ about it for more than a second.

What Victor was saying, about him being the least attached pack member, was absolute truth, and he knew for a fact that everyone would lose it the day Victor finally turned back to his human form in front of them, but being friends? After the fact that Victor had kind of killed him and he was still scared of him like that night? He wasn’t sure it could happen.

Then his thoughts went back to the relief he had felt when realizing that Victor being better meant that the pack would be whole again in the not-so-distant future, and he realized that his fears didn’t matter one bit in this.

Victor was pack, and if what he needed was a friend, then Peter was willing to try being it for him.

“Okay,” he sighed before he could talk himself out of it. “Although, I don’t see how it’s gonna change our relationship, since I’m pretty sure from what you said that you’re going to change back to a wolf before going back home, and it’s hard to have a conversation with someone who can’t talk.”

“Don’t worry about that,” replied Victor, turning to meet his eyes again.

Peter was surprised to find that his gaze was way less intense than usual. In fact, there was something vulnerable about it, that had Peter impulsively wrap his arms around Victor's shoulders and push him straight against his chest for a hug that should have felt a lot more awkward considering that one of them was completely naked.

Victor, strangely, leaned heavily against him and hugged him back without any hesitation, and they stayed like that for a while, just leeching off of each other’s warmth in the middle of the autumn afternoon, eyes closed and for once, on Peter’s part, not feeling afraid of the other man.

Victor was the first one to break the hug, and Peter knew without having to look at his face that he was going to change back into his wolf form without adding anything else, so he got up and took several steps back to give him his space without a word, and turned his back to him when Victor’s eyes flashed blue and he started shifting.

Once it was done, they took a small detour to go back to the house, Peter walking silently as Victor, once again a huge black scary wolf, trotted happily next to him.

Sue didn’t say a word when she met them in the backyard. She just reached for Peter, and hugged him as tightly as she could while Victor stood back and watched carefully.

“Take care of him,” she whispered.

“I will,” replied Peter, receiving a blindingly genuine smile in return.


End file.
